(1230 West Orangethorpe Avenue)

One of the few examples of Dutch Colonial Revival in Fullerton, the Royer House, was designed for Max and Mildred Royer by Anaheim Master Architect M. Eugene Durfee (1885-1941) and constructed by notable local contractor George C. Pickering (1890-1977) in 1923.

The Dutch Colonial Revival Royer House was built in 1923.

Durfee, a prominent Orange County architect, designed both the Chapman Building and the California Hotel (now Villa del Sol) in Fullerton, as well as many commercial buildings in downtown Anaheim that were unfortunately demolished during urban renewal in the 1980s.

Pharmacist/businessman Max Royer (1892-1965) – born in France – was the unofficial “mayor” of the Orangethorpe community, which was then an unincorporated area of north Orange County. But the home was really the dream of Mildred Lovering Royer (1892-1976) who wanted to celebrate her Dutch ancestry. Friends and relatives were often invited to the home for Dutch dinners. Originally surrounded by trees and vacant land, the two-story dwelling featured two solariums, a gambrel roof, decorative shutters, brick chimneys at both ends, and a balanced placement of multi-paned windows. The Royers lived in the home until the 1950s. Royer Avenue was named for the family and nearby Lovering Avenue was named for Mildred’s family, who owned extensive acreage along Orangethorpe Avenue in the early 1900s.